Louisiana gained more than 23,336 residents from July 2012 to July 2013, bringing the state's population to 4,625,470, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report unveiled Monday. The increase was a little smaller than the previous year, when the Census counted 26,937 more residents.

From 1980 to 2005, Moret noted in a statement on the Census numbers, Louisiana averaged 37th for population growth. Over the six most recent years of available data, the state had an average rank of 19th.

Others, however, shared a less encouraging perspective on the numbers. Shreveport-based demographer Elliott Stonecipher pointed to the pace of growth slowing from 49,916 new residents in 2007 when rebounding from the mightily disruptive Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005 was more pronounced.

Before the hurricanes, Stonecipher said, Louisiana suffered population stagnation with annual growth around 20,000. He suggested the state might be returning to that pattern.

The most recent .51 percent increase, he said, fell short of the .96 percent growth for the South as a region. Stonecipher said officials in Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration have been heralding a newly launched migration into Louisiana by counting people returning after displacement by the hurricanes.

"Where is the norm in all of this and how do we know when we get there?" Stonecipher asked.

More interpretation of the latest results will be possible in January, he said, when the Census plans to offer breakdowns of birth rates and people migrating into and exiting the state.

The Monday report, meanwhile, said the national population rose during the same year from 313,873,685 to 316,128,839.

This version of this article has been updated to clarify that the state rankings cited by Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret are averages over several years.